Oil applicator



States This invention appertains to devices for automatically applying afilm of-oil to moving parts, such as drive l nk chains, gears, slideplates and the like, whereby to eliminate wear, friction etc. and moreparticularly for insuring the correct delivery of the oil to the movingparts.

' It has been proposed to utilize bristle brush applicators for themoving parts. Such brushes wear quickly and unevenly and soon becomespread and distorted, and hence require frequent replacement. Also theoil does not spread uniformly through the bristles, resulting in anuneven oil film application.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide an oil filmapplicator which insures the correct even application of oil to a chainor other moving parts, one which will not become distorted in use, andone which will efiectively resist wear.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide an oil applicatorwhich can be readily cut or trimmed to the shape of a moving part or toa width to suit the width of a chain, without over hanging, thuseliminating the side oil dripping and eliminating the necessity ofproviding a number of diflerent shapes and widths of applicators.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of an oilfilm applicator embodying a holder with a nipple for connection with anoil reservoir or manifold leading from an oil reservoir, a flexible wearplate and a flexible pressure plate received therebetween and a flexibleporous oil distributing pad, the wear, pressure plate and pad being allclamped together by the holder, the wear plate and the pressure platefunctioning to produce an alternating pressure and release action on thepad as the chain knuckles or pivots pass under the applicator, therebyproducing a desirable pumping action on the distributing pad to insurethe proper delivering of the oil film to the chain.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an oil applicatorof the above character, which will be durable and eificient in use, onethat will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be placedupon the market at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will behereinafter more specifically described and claimed, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing my applicator applied to anoil distributor and in use on a chain, parts of the figure being shownbroken away and in section to illustrate structural detail;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the applicator;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken on the line33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the view showingmore particularly the arrangement of the flexible oil distributing pad,and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the applicatorshowing the relation thereof relative to the 1 form a pocket 17 in whichp t tedsept.

reservoir can be of any desired type, but preferably of the gravity feedstyle with means for regulating the flow of oil therefrom. While I haveshown the applicator A connected directly with the reservoir, it is tobe understood that where surfaces are to be oiled having a greaterwidth, that a plurality of applicators can be arranged edge to edge andconnected with a manifold leading from an oil reservoir.

Now referring more particularly to my applicator A the same embodies aholder 5 preferably formedfrom sheet metal. The holder 5 includescompanion side walls 6 and 7 and a connecting top wall 8. The top wall 8has rigidly secured thereto a threaded nipple 9, which communicates withan oil outlet opening 10 fiormed in the top wall 8. -The nipple 9 can bethreaded directly into a fitting 11 carried by the oil' reservoir R orinto threaded openings in a manifold according to the use of theapplicator.

Disposed centrally within the holder and depending therefrom is an oildistributing pad 12. This pad 12 is of a porous nature and can be madefrom various flexible materials, but preferably felt. The extreme loweredge of the pad is preferably serrated, as at 13, to form dependingpoints 14. Arranged in facial relation to the opposite sides of the oildistributing pad 12 are flexible sheets 15 and 16. These plates possessa certain resiliency and one of the plates, namely, the plate 16, in thepresent instance, constitutes a wear plate and the plate 15 constitutesapressure plate. The plates 15 and 16 can be made from various kinds ofmaterial and neoprene rubber is preferred. The upper ends of the plates15 and 16 with the pad 12 therebetween are placed between the walls 6and 7 of the holder after which the walls are brought toward on anotherto firmly clamp the two plates and the pad in position. It is alsopreferred to have the pad extend to the connecting wall 8 of the holder,so that the oil flowing through the opening 10 will readily saturate thepad. The lower serrated edge 13 of the pad extends below the lower edgesof the pressure and wear plates 15 and 16 so as to insure the engagementof the pad with the surface to be oiled.

In order to further insure the quick uniform saturation of the pad, thepad at its upper end can be cut away to the oil can drip.

To illustrate one use of the applicator, I have shown the same employedin conjunction with a moving chain C.

The chain can be of any desired type or width, and as illustrated, thesame includes side links 18 and connecting knuckles or pins 19. It is,of course, important to properly lubricate the knuckles and pins. Thesides of the applicator can be trimmed with a knife or a pair ofscissors to the exact width of the chain with which the applicator is tobe used, and hence there will be no over hang or side drip. Theapplicator is adjusted so that the lower edge of the pad 12 will have awiping engagement with the knuckles or pins. Thus, the wear plate 16will engage and wipe over the knuckles as well as the lower edge of thefelt pad 12. The plate 16 functions to protect the pad against theeffects of undue wear and distortion. In actual practice, the applicatorapproaches a knuckle or hinge pin, wipes over such knuckle or pin and ismoved thereby to a flexed inclined position and upon movement of theknuckle past the applicator, the applicator autw j 2,951,557. 7 r rmatically springs back to avertical position, as shown in F full linesin Figure 1. The flexed position of the applicator is shown in dottedlines in Figure 1. During the alternate flexing and straightening ofvtheapplicator, a desirable pumping action takes place and during theflexing of the applicator, the pad 12 is squeezed between the wear plate16 and the pressure plate 15. This causes a desired application of oildirectly at the required point of use;

In actual marketing conditions, two sizes of applicators are made,namely, a narrow and a wide'width. If greater widths are desired, then aplurality of applicators are placed edge to edge and the nipples of suchapplicators are connected to a manifold pipe. 7

As heretofore brought out, the applicator can 'be trimmed to any desiredshape and also trimmed to a desired width. In Figure 3, I have shown onesize of applicator in use with a relatively wide chain. In Figure 4, Ihave shown this applicator with its sides trimmed and in use with arelatively narrow chain.

Changes in details may be made, without departing from the spirit or thescope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

An applicator for supplying a film of oil to a moving part comprising aflexible porous pad for receiving the oil to be distributed, a flexibleresilient wear plate engaging one side of the pad, a flexible resilientpressure plate engaging the other side of the pad, said pad terminatingwith its lower end beyond the end terminations of said plates and havinga pocket formed in its upper end for receiving oil from the oilsupplying means, a holder receiving and clamping the plates and padtogether, said holder having an oil receiving nipple communicating withthe interior of the holder, the wear, plate being adapted, to engage themoving part, ,the pressure plate being adapted to'bear firm against theother side of said pad, whereby relief of pressure on the wear platewill cause an alternate squeezing and releasing action by said plates onthe opposite faces of the pad, said projecting lower end of said padbeing provided with spaced teeth.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 933,938'Windle et a1. Sept. 14, 1909 946,149 Newman Jan. 11, 1910 2,330,491Huck Sept. 28, 1943

